In the tufting of modern carpet, a plurality of beams of thermoplastic yarn, wherein each beam may contain as many as one hundred and fifty individual yarn ends, are fed continuously to a tufting machine. The beams of yarn are customarily mounted on racks in proximity to the tufting machine. As the individual beams become exhausted, they must be replaced rapidly with full beams, and when this is done, the ends of the yarn on the full beam must be spliced with a corresponding number of yarn ends trailing from the tufting machine.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,975, an apparatus is disclose for splicing a multitude of thermoplastic yarn ends, wherein a movable heat splicing unit is provided for movement in a transverse direction across the individual yarns to be spliced, whereby successive splices are made between the ends of the yarn on the full beam with a respective yarn end trailing from the tufting machine.
While the splicing apparatus disclosed in the abovementioned patent is satisfactory for producing splices which are strong and cause no objectionable enlargements to interfere with the tufting machine needle eyes, the time of travel for the transverse movement of the heat splicing unit across the successive yarns to be spliced delayed the splicing process.
In order to expedite the splicing process, the linear beam splicer of the present invention has been devised whereby the plurality of the ends of the yarn on the full beam and the respective yarn ends trailing from the tufting machine are simultaneously spliced together, rather than successively spliced as disclosed in the aforementioned patent.
The linear beam splicer of the present invention comprises, essentially, a splicing unit mounted on a frame and positioned between a beam support rack and a tufting machine. The splicing unit includes a frame carrying a grip and gauging bar assembly adapted to hold the yarns to be spliced, and a longitudinally extending heating element mounted on the frame and extending parallel to and below the grip and gauging bar assembly. The heating unit is pivotally connected at each end thereof to the frame by an oscillating crank mechanism, whereby the heating element is moved in a linear direction against the yarns to be spliced, whereby all the yarns are spliced simultaneously.